Tulsa World Shaking Things Up: Six Bartenders to

T H E T U L S A W O R L D ’ S E N T E R TA I N M E N T M A G A Z I N E
Volume 5 | Number 41 | April 22, 2015
BUZZ
AT THE BAR
MEET SIX TULSA
BARTENDERS
TO WATCH 12
INSIDE
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TULSA CRAFT
BEER WEEK
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TO LIVE MUSIC
PAGE 12
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TulsaWorld•April22,2015
FROM THE COVER
SHAKING THINGS
Meet Tulsa’s rising
stars behind the bar
BY NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON
WorldSceneWriter
PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH
WorldPhotographer
A
top bartender perfects the
art of lavor persuasion.
We asked six of Tulsa’s
top bartenders what fuels
their passion for the craft.
These men and women
are the bartenders to watch.
The ultimate rush, they said, is making
drinks that people don’t think they like —
something they might even say they hate.
A white wine drinker may profess a
hatred of red. A vodka tonic drinker may
shudder at the mere mention of an Old
Fashioned.
But for those truly dedicated to the craft,
that means game on. Challenge accepted.
Because a well-crafted drink can overcome preconceptions.
And some lavors are worth acquiring.
We introduced you to some of Tulsa’s
top bartenders previously, including Noah
Bush of Hodges Bend, Tom Rush of Biga,
Liz Pounds of Juniper, Aaron Post of
Valkyrie, Josh Royal of R Bar & Grill and
Ryan Stack of MixCo.
They helped us pick some new faces to
feature, rising stars behind the bar, including some who are honored to strut their
skills at upcoming events.
It’s not easy to narrow the ield, but
Mark Perkins, venues director for The
White Party, an upcoming fundraiser for
Family & Children Services, said they
picked the bartenders they wanted to feature by thinking of great bars in Tulsa.
“We start the process in committee just
sharing the places we like to go in Tulsa to
enjoy a cocktail. Some of us have friends in
the industry, so we ask those friends who
they think does an exceptional job. We also
solicit the opinions of former White Party
honorees. Pretty soon, a target list of honorees kind of comes together efortlessly,”
Perkins said. “Without exception, the
venues and honorees agree to participate
in a fun party for a good cause, and the
attendees are treated to delicious cocktails
by some of Tulsa’s inest.”
Here are six of Tulsa’s bartenders to
watch:
Clockwise from top left: Nico Albert from MixCo, Read Richards from Valkyrie, Breeze Waitkus from R Bar, Sydnee Partin from the Vaul
1740 and Jaime Jennings from Hodges Bend.
Tulsa World • April 22, 2015
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tulsaweekend.com
UP
lt, Blake Engleman from Vintage
BLAKE ENGLEMAN
Vintage 1740 wine bar,
1740 S. Boston Ave.
Blake Engleman
has certainly earned
the respect of his
peers. Several of
Tulsa’s top bartenders nominated him
as a bartender to
watch.
A little more than
four years ago, he
applied at Andolini’s
to be a bartender, but
he got the job as a
waiter.
“A spot later
opened up and they
let me behind the
bar,” Engleman said.
“That’s all that I
wanted to do.”
Driven by a desire
to learn more about
wine, Engleman eventually made his way
to Vintage, where bartender and owner
Matt Sanders would
prove to be the perfect mentor.
“I like to introduce
people to new wines
or wines in general,”
Engleman said.
“There is a wine
for every single person out there. Some
people might say, ‘I
can’t drink white.’
Or, ‘I can’t drink red.’
I swear I can ind
something that they
will like about the
other. It’s fun. Especially when you get
that ah-ha moment.”
Engleman also
loves crafting
cocktails at Vintage,
where they will be
ofering some “bright
and uplifting” cocktails for summer, he
said.
NICO ALBERT
MixCo,
Third and Denver Ave.
Nico Albert
always wanted to
be a bartender. But
circumstances in the
restaurant business
and various job offers led to her being
a chef.
She got her chance
at one of the best
bars in Tulsa a year
ago.
“When I irst
started in the restaurant business, I was
17 and I was a hostess. It was a tequila
bar. Then I moved up
to being a bar back.
I was trying to be
a bartender. That’s
what I wanted to do. Then jobs were
ofered and I kept moving further away
from being a bartender and I wound up in
the kitchen.
“It is nice inally to come back and do
what I initially wanted to do,” said Albert,
who will be competing in the upcoming
Blank Canvas fundraiser for the Tulsa
nonproit Youth
Services.
Asked what she’s
into right now, Albert said that tequila
will always be her
roots, but she is also
enjoying working with mezcal in
drinks.
“I just did an
educational seminar
on tequila, which
has always been my
favorite because I
started working in
a tequila bar. That
is what I always
go back to: tequila,
speciically mezcal,”
Albert said.
She said that mezcal is trending and
people will see more
of it on bar menus. For those unfamiliar
with mezcal, she said it has a smoky taste
similar to beef jerky, and it gains the taste
when the agave hearts are roasted.
“It is an acquired taste, but I think that
as bartenders we should present spirits
that are unfamiliar and do it in a way that
people ind a little more acceptable.”
SYDNEE
PARTIN
The Vault, 620 S. Cincinnati Ave.
While working as a server at The Vault,
Sydnee Partin expressed an interest in being a bartender. When a bartender didn’t
show up to work one day, she got her
chance.
“I immediately fell in love with it,” Partin
said.
Her on-the-job training began, and Partin
has developed skills during the past 2½
years to be called one of the top bartenders in Tulsa. She will be featured at The
White Party in May, which is a major event
at The Vault beneiting Family & Children’s
Services.
“Before I started here, I never realized
how fresh juices and making your own syrups and really paying attention to what you
are doing behind the bar can really mean so
much for a drink and for a guest and can really change their views on liquors they did
not like before.
“That is one of my favorite things to do
is to get people to try things they don’t like,
like tequila. People are scared of tequila.
But if you mix it with fresh stuf and fresh
juices and house-made ginger beer, they
actually love it,” Partin said.
“Just getting people to try a craft cocktail
when they are used to drinking a vodka
tonic is the best.”
In addition to working, Partin is going to
school to get her inance degree and said
she hopes to own a restaurant of her own
some day.
PAGE 14
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FROM THE COVER
TulsaWorld•April22,2015
tulsaweekend.com
JAIME JENNINGS
Hodges Bend, 823 E. Third St.
When it comes to crafting
cocktails, Jaime Jennings loves
introducing customers to the
classics.
“It’s always fun to come up
with something new and put
your drink in their hands,” Jennings said. “But I also love introducing someone to a 100-yearold drink. There’s a reason it has
survived for that long.”
Jennings has been bartending for ive years. He started as
a hotel bellman at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and eventually
worked his way behind the bar,
working at the White Owl before
joining Hodges Bend at the request of owner Noah Bush.
Bush has gained a reputation in
Tulsa for mentoring and inspiring many aspiring bartenders in
Tulsa.
“I always say that he has
READ RICHARDS
Valkyrie, 13 E. M.B. Brady St.
When Read Richards turned
21, he bought a bottle of whiskey.
With friends, they sat down and
took notes, discussing the lavor
proiles of the liquor. And later,
they would buy another bottle
and do the same thing, and they
eventually moved on to Bourbon
and other spirits.
“I had never planned to be a
bartender; it is something I considered a hobby,” Richards said.
One day Richards came to
Valkyrie and ordered an OldFashioned. The drink was so good
it loored him.
“I kept coming back and coming back,” Richards said. “I was
in there so much they said to
bring your resume. You are here
so much you might as well work
here.”
He was hired and has been
working there since 2012. Rich-
ards jumped into the profession
with both feet, reading, researching and training with the experts,
such as Valkyrie’s owner, Aaron
Post.
His main objective?
“For me, it is all about throwing
a party. When people come into
your home, it is all about making
them feel welcome,” Richards
said.
But like most of the bartenders
we spoke with, Richards relishes
the challenge of swaying a customer’s opinion about a certain
drink or liquor.
“They may come claiming they
don’t like something, like whiskey,
but then you make them a drink
whiskey’s in and they love it because you showcased the spirit in
just the right way.
“It’s fun to open people’s minds
to something they weren’t ready
for. ”
forgotten more than I know,”
Jennings said. “He takes his art
and profession very seriously. He
has given us knowledge, as well
as the opportunity to learn.”
Yet Jennings is being humble
because he has already made a
name for himself among respected cocktail artisans, in part, due
to his work ethic and passion.
“I am an eiciency freak,”
Jennings explained while saying
a good bartender must balance
making drinks, a fun environment, while chatting with customers, getting the dishes done.
“It can be a taxing job, doing all
that while making the customer
feel welcome. But that’s all in a
day’s work. Long shifts can be
constant work.”
And I feel Hodges Bend is
doing things on par with what
everyone is doing regionally and
nationally.”